Access to my own ESB Meter...

HellFireClub

Hi Folks,

Recently I've become embroiled in a dispute with my letting agent, the dispute is completely down to access to my ESB meter. I rent an apartment where the ESB meters are all in a room under the stairs in the development.

The door of the room has always been locked. Recently, when I requested access to the room, I have been refused. When I questioned the basis for the refusal, I was given the "health & safety" bullshít fob off.

My ESB bills have consistently been estimated, and in an effort to get on top of my usage, my consumption, and ultimately my bills, I decided to go get my actual usage as opposed to having estimated bills landing in and to this end, I made it clear to my estate agent, after I was told that I didn't have access to my ESB meter, that the ESB account is in my name, and it has nothing to do with himself, the property management company or any other party and nobody has a right to tell me that I cannot have access to my ESB meter for the purposes of me observing my consumption, at any particular time.

I've contacted the ESB, who fobbed me off back to the letting agent, the property management company, etc. I'm simply not prepared to be treated like a 5 year old child in relation to this stuff and have decided to vacate the property if this is how business is going to be conducted.

Just wondering has anyone else run into this kind of ridiculous bullshít in relation to access to their ESB meter?

When I asked the letting agent who I signed the rent agreement with, what grounds he was relying upon , he replied, "those are the rules"...

Castlehaven

How were the correct meter reads obtained when your tenancy started? I assume someone must have read the meters at that point?

Since you are the customer of ESB you should request a reading as opposed to an estimate then it is up to the ESB to access their meters and take a reading. I think they actually are obliged to take a true reading and cannot just keep estimating so they will have to read the meters at some point.

The electrics cupboards in apartment blocks are part of the freehold so access is under the control of the management company. Access certainly would be restricted and the grounds could be h&s but it is in reality probably an issue with the public liability insurance that would restrict access to authorised people only.

Your landlord would not have an automatic right of entry under his head lease so as a sub tenant no such right passes to you.

Neither your landlord nor the letting agent will have a key.

The meters are the property of the utility company, in this case the ESB, who would have a legal easement to access their equipment.
Therefore access will be limited to the management company, their representatives, ESB and any other utility company that has services in the cupd.

In the real world when I have come across this situation some management companies are more relaxed than others and will open up service areas for a tenant or landlord but often this means they will have to come to the property specifically for this reason (assuming there is no on-site caretaker or similar) so some just will not do it for a tenant since they are not obliged to do so.

I think what you are trying to do is perfectly reasonable although you have an uphill struggle ahead of you. I think your best approach is to demand a reading from the ESB. Just explain you have no access to the meters

maximoose

^As he said, request ESB to come and take a reading

The sooner the better, if it has been estimated for a long period of time you could have overpaid.. or underpaid and be in for a shock (happened to me before)